The government has announced plans to turn assets confiscated from drug traffickers into rehabilitation centres, aiming to tackle rising drug abuse and related crime in Coastal counties.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen spoke in Mombasa during a consultative session with leaders from all six Coastal counties on security and service delivery. He said authorities are moving beyond merely arresting drug offenders to targeting the financial networks behind the trade.
“We are not just going for the drugs or the arrests. We will also go for their properties, sell them and use the money to build rehabilitation centers,” Murkomen said.
He added that the President has instructed county governments to provide land for the construction of these centres, noting that several counties, including Mombasa, have already started the process.
According to Murkomen, the facilities will help individuals rescued from drug addiction recover and rejoin society as productive members.
The Interior CS highlighted that drug abuse in the Coast is closely linked to juvenile gangs, crime, and alcohol misuse, which continue to pose security challenges.
While security agencies have made progress in reducing gang operations, Murkomen warned that the problem keeps resurfacing, stressing that arrests alone cannot solve the crisis.
“We must reform these young people, engage them in work and skills training, and deal with the drug problem that fuels crime,” he said.
Murkomen said the government has intensified efforts against major traffickers, especially those dealing in heroin, cocaine, and synthetic drugs.
He noted recent seizures, including narcotics worth billions intercepted at sea, as well as cannabis trafficked through porous borders.
The CS explained that the new strategy focuses on the entire network—from traffickers and transporters to financiers—with the goal of dismantling organized drug cartels entirely.
